AMD FirePro W5100

The AMD FirePro W5100 is a professional workstation graphics card built on the GCN 2.0 architecture, utilizing a 28 nm process at TSMC. It targets entry-level CAD and DCC workloads, and its benchmark data places it near the middle of the database’s GPU performance distribution. This analysis focuses on its measured scores, memory configuration, power requirements, and direct comparisons with the nearest rivals in the benchmark database.

Benchmark Performance

The FirePro W5100’s average benchmark score is 12,789 points, derived from its Geekbench OpenCL result of 11,753 and a significantly stronger Geekbench Vulkan score of 13,824. The Vulkan result indicates that the card’s compute capability is more fully realized under modern, low-overhead APIs, while the OpenCL score suggests slightly more conservative performance in older compute workloads. The card sits at the 51st percentile among all GPUs, meaning it outperforms just over half of the database’s entries — a respectable position for a professional card of its era.

In raw compute throughput, the card delivers 1,428.5 GFLOPS of FP32 performance, a figure that directly supports its benchmark positioning. The texture rate is 44.64 GTexel/s, and the pixel rate is 14.88 GPixel/s, both of which are moderate for a card with 768 shading units, 48 texture mapping units, and 16 raster operation units. These specifications suggest the card is balanced for its class, with no single bottleneck dominating in typical workstation tasks.

Comparing against the nearest rivals, the FirePro W5100 is remarkably close to each. It trails the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 590 by just 0.3%, a negligible margin given the GTX 590 is a dual-GPU flagship from an older generation. Against the AMD Radeon 740M, an integrated solution, the W5100 is 0.6% behind, and versus the NVIDIA Quadro P5000, a much newer professional card, it is 0.7% slower. The largest gap is with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile, where the W5100 is 1.2% behind. In practical terms, these deltas are within run-to-run variance; the data shows the FirePro W5100 performs essentially on par with all four rivals in aggregate synthetic benchmarks. This is a notable outcome for a 2014-era card, indicating that its compute architecture remains competitive in raw throughput metrics.

Ray Tracing and Feature Set

The FirePro W5100 is built on the GCN 2.0 architecture and does not include dedicated ray tracing cores or tensor cores; the FACT PACK lists both as null. Consequently, hardware-accelerated ray tracing is not a feature of this card. For professional workflows that require ray-traced rendering, the card would rely entirely on compute shaders, which is inefficient compared to modern RTX-class hardware. The Vulkan API support is version 1.2.170, which is modern enough to run contemporary Vulkan-based applications, but without RT extensions hardware support, ray tracing workloads will be limited.

The card supports DirectX 12 (12_0) and OpenGL 4.6, covering the essential API bases for professional DCC and CAD software. DirectX 12 feature level 12_0 means it can handle current game engines and DirectX-based compute workloads, while OpenGL 4.6 ensures compatibility with older workstation applications that rely on that API. The absence of tensor cores also means no AI-accelerated features like DLSS or similar deep-learning-based upscaling, which is expected for a card from this generation. The display outputs are four DisplayPort 1.2 connections, which support multi-monitor professional setups at up to 4K resolution each, though at 60 Hz or lower, depending on the monitor. The card’s feature set is firmly rooted in its era: solid general-purpose compute, broad API compatibility, but no dedicated hardware for ray tracing or AI acceleration.

Memory Subsystem

The FirePro W5100 comes with 4 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 128-bit bus, yielding a memory bandwidth of 96.00 GB/s. The memory clock is 1500 MHz, with an effective data rate of 6 Gbps. This configuration is modest by modern standards, but it was appropriate for entry-level professional work at the time of release. For high-resolution workloads, particularly at 4K, the 128-bit bus width is a constraint; 96.00 GB/s of bandwidth can become a limiting factor when handling large textures or complex scenes in CAD or video editing. The 4 GB capacity is sufficient for many 1080p and 1440p professional tasks, but users working with 4K textures or large scientific datasets may encounter memory pressure.

The pixel rate of 14.88 GPixel/s and texture rate of 44.64 GTexel/s are directly tied to the memory subsystem’s ability to feed the shader array. With 16 ROPs, the card is not designed for high fill-rate scenarios, which is consistent with its professional positioning rather than gaming. For multi-monitor setups — supported by the four DisplayPort outputs — the memory bandwidth is adequate for typical 2D desktop usage and moderate 3D viewport work. However, in scenarios where the card is pushed to its limits, such as rendering a large assembly in a CAD package, the 128-bit memory interface may cause noticeable slowdowns. The data indicates that the memory subsystem is the card’s weakest link relative to its compute throughput, a common trade-off in lower-end professional cards.

Power and Cooling

The FirePro W5100 has a TDP of 50 W, making it an exceptionally power-efficient card for its performance class. This low power draw allows it to be a single-slot design, which is beneficial for dense workstation builds or systems with multiple cards. The card requires no external power connectors; it draws all its power from the PCIe 3.0 x16 slot. The suggested PSU is 250 W, which is a very low requirement and means the card can be installed in almost any existing system without a PSU upgrade, provided the system’s total power draw stays within the PSU’s capacity. The physical dimensions are 173 mm in length (6.8 inches) and 111 mm in height (4.4 inches), making it a compact card that fits in most chassis, including small form factor cases. The single-slot cooler is presumably adequate given the 50 W TDP, likely relying on a blower-style fan to exhaust heat outside the case.

The combination of a 50 W TDP and no power connectors simplifies installation significantly. There is no need to manage auxiliary power cables, and the thermal output is low enough that even a modest case airflow setup will suffice. This makes the card an attractive option for upgrading older workstations that may have limited PSU headroom or inadequate cooling. The production status is end-of-life, meaning it is no longer manufactured, but for users with existing systems, the power and cooling requirements are trivial to meet. The 250 W PSU recommendation is among the lowest in the database, underscoring the card’s suitability for low-power builds or as a secondary compute card in a larger system.

How It Compares

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 590 — The GTX 590 has an average score of 12,830, which is 0.3% higher than the FirePro W5100’s 12,789. This is a statistical tie, despite the GTX 590 being a dual-GPU flagship card from a previous generation. The W5100’s GCN architecture appears to scale better in synthetic benchmarks relative to its power draw; the GTX 590 likely consumes several times more power to achieve a similar score. For professional workloads, the W5100’s driver optimizations and lower power requirements make it a more practical choice, though the GTX 590 may have an edge in raw gaming performance that is not reflected here.

AMD Radeon 740M — The Radeon 740M, an integrated GPU, scores 12,870, which is 0.6% higher than the W5100. This is a remarkable result for an iGPU, but the W5100 offers dedicated VRAM and professional driver support, which the 740M lacks. The 4 GB of dedicated GDDR5 memory on the W5100 is a significant advantage for large datasets, whereas the 740M must share system memory. The W5100 also has a much lower TDP at 50 W, but the 740M uses even less, being integrated. For a standalone card, the W5100 provides better isolation from system memory bottlenecks.

NVIDIA Quadro P5000 — The Quadro P5000 scores 12,880, just 0.7% higher than the W5100. This is surprising given the P5000 is a much newer and more expensive professional card. The benchmark data suggests that in these specific synthetic tests, the older W5100 is nearly as fast. However, the P5000 likely excels in real-world professional applications with larger memory pools and newer driver optimizations, which are not captured in these aggregate scores. The W5100’s 4 GB VRAM is a clear limitation versus the P5000’s capacity, but for compute-bound tasks, the performance delta is minimal.

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile — The RTX 3050 Ti Mobile scores 12,940, which is 1.2% higher than the W5100. This is the largest performance gap in the rival set, but still small enough to be considered negligible in practice. The RTX 3050 Ti Mobile benefits from newer architecture and more memory bandwidth, but the W5100’s desktop form factor and 50 W TDP make it a viable alternative for low-power professional workstations. The RTX 3050 Ti Mobile also supports hardware ray tracing, which the W5100 lacks, but in pure compute benchmarks, the older card holds its own.

FAQ

Q: What is the average benchmark score of the AMD FirePro W5100?

A: The average benchmark score is 12,789 points, based on a Geekbench OpenCL score of 11,753 and a Geekbench Vulkan score of 13,824.

Q: How does the FirePro W5100 compare to the NVIDIA Quadro P5000 in performance?

A: The Quadro P5000 has an average score of 12,880, which is 0.7% higher than the W5100’s 12,789, making the performance difference negligible in these benchmarks.

Q: Does the FirePro W5100 support hardware ray tracing?

A: No, the card does not have dedicated ray tracing cores or tensor cores, so hardware-accelerated ray tracing is not supported.

Q: What is the memory configuration of the FirePro W5100?

A: It has 4 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 128-bit bus, with a memory bandwidth of 96.00 GB/s and a memory clock of 1500 MHz (6 Gbps effective).

Q: What power supply is recommended for the FirePro W5100?

A: The suggested PSU is 250 W, and the card has a TDP of 50 W with no external power connectors required.

Q: What display outputs are available on the FirePro W5100?

A: The card features four DisplayPort 1.2 outputs, supporting multi-monitor professional setups.